It’s been two weeks since my son officially became a second grader and so far, things are off to a good start.  Thank goodness.

Last year was a bit of a mess. The first two months of his first-grade year were tumultuous, with frequent reprimands and constant negative feedback from the teacher. He started to loathe going to school, feeling like he was a bad kid and couldn’t do anything right. And then she abruptly quit, leaving his class to have a substitute teacher for the next three months. Turns out there were more kids in the same boat. Fortunately, the school was able to find an amazing educator who brought back his love of learning and school in the second half of the academic year.

Even with a happy ending to a rough start, the experience freaked me out. For one, I didn’t want his grades to suffer should a similar event occur this year. So over the summer, we did a lot of “homework” to reduce summer slide; at least he would be scholastically ready for the expectations of second grade.

Can I just say how relieved I was to know that his new teach was the school’s “teacher of the year” last year? Like, of course her classroom set up is sensory-friendly in a way that would make any OT proud! I mean, we’re talking dim lighting, green leaf print curtains, WOBBLE STOOLS for kids who need it, and a calm-down/reading nook corner. *swoon*

Aside from my own personal excitement, A seemed happy to know what was actually expected of him. His teacher clearly posted her class rules and expectations around the room along with strategies of how to achieve it (like the traffic light to signal when it’s time to be quiet and focused and when it’s okay to talk to friends).

Two weeks in and my son has nothing but good things to say about his class and teacher. He’s also willing to tell me about his day and what he learned at school, which is nice since I don’t have to pry it out of him. Despite all the positive vibes, the only negative he’s complained about is his afternoon bus ride home. His qualm: assigned seating. He’s slowly getting over it. He does enjoy his solo walk home from the bus stop, probably to calm down and process his school day before he tells me all about it. Eh, can’t win ‘em all.

Now that my son is settling just fine at his school, I can switch gears and prep his sisters for pre-K in two weeks. Unlike last year, they are expressing some anxiety about their class. Many of their friends have gone to other schools. Even though they did meet their teachers last week at camp, they are still unsure of what to expect from them. Hopefully their official teacher Meet-and-Greet next week will ease their nerves a bit before their first day of school. Fingers crossed.